Flyers · Glossary
Instagram post and story sizes
A square Instagram post is 1,080 by 1,080 pixels and a story is 1,080 by 1,920. Both are shown inside interface furniture, so the edges of a story in particular are covered by the profile row at the top and the reply bar at the bottom. Design to the full canvas, keep anything that must be read away from those edges.
The pixel sizes are the easy half. The half that costs you is that the platform draws its own controls over your design, and it does not ask first.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
3 min read · Published
| Placement | Pixels | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram post, square | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 |
| Instagram story | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 |
| Facebook or LinkedIn post | 1200 x 630 | 1.91:1 |
| Facebook cover | 820 x 312 | Wide banner |
| Twitter header | 1500 x 500 | Wide banner |
The safe area matters more than the size
A story fills the screen, and the platform puts its own elements over the top and bottom of it: the account row, the timer, the reply field. Anything important in those bands is partly hidden, and on some devices covered entirely. Keeping headline text and any call to action in the middle third is the single change that fixes most stories, and it costs nothing.
Why a square and a story are different designs
They are not the same layout at two sizes. A square gives you room for one strong line and an image; a story gives you a tall column where the eye travels down and the last thing seen is nearest the thumb. Content moves, not just scales. The text that sits beside an image in a square usually sits above or below it in a story.
Muted, scrolling, and one second
Most feeds autoplay muted and most people decide within a second. That means the first frame carries the whole message, words included, and sound is a bonus rather than the channel. It is also why the sizes matter less than the composition: a technically perfect 1,080 square whose message only appears at second four is a wasted post.
Questions people ask
Can I post an A4 flyer to Instagram?
You can, and it will be letterboxed or cropped, because A4 is a different shape from any Instagram canvas. The result looks like a document photographed rather than a post, which is exactly the impression most businesses are trying to avoid. Lay it out again at the right shape.
What is the safe area on a story?
Keep essential content away from the top and bottom bands where the interface sits, and out of the very edges. The middle portion of the canvas is what you can rely on being visible on every device, and designing to it costs you nothing on devices where more is shown.
Does a square or a portrait post perform better?
Taller placements occupy more of the screen as somebody scrolls, which is the mechanical reason they tend to hold attention longer. That is a tendency rather than a rule, and it does not rescue a weak first frame. Test with your own audience rather than trusting a general figure.
Should text be in the image or the caption?
The essential line goes in the image, because the caption is truncated and often unread. The caption is for the detail, the link and the context. If your offer only exists in the caption, most people scrolling past never receive it.
Do I need a different file per placement?
Yes, one per shape, laid out for that shape. What you do not need is a different design language: the same colours, type and photograph should carry across, so somebody who sees both recognises them as one campaign.
Make one with flyers
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a flyer with OneCraftRelated questions
- A4 flyer size in pixelsA4 is 210 by 297 mm. In pixels it depends on the density: 1240 by 1754 at 150 DPI is the practical working size for a flyer.
- What DPI should a flyer be?A flyer is read at arm's length, so 150 pixels per inch at finished size is enough. Where 300 comes from and when it is genuinely worth the file size.
- What is a UGC ad?A UGC ad is an advert made to look like a normal creator post rather than a commercial. What defines the format, and the disclosure rules that apply.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .